Over a cup of coffee
by Yappie
Summary: She is a university student working at a cafe to earn money for her tuition fees. He is a regular customer of the cafe, who happens to be studying in the same university as her. They are just strangers to one another, until a creep changes that.
1. Chapter 1

This is my third OP fanfic, and it will also be a Law x Oc story. I figured that it will be fun to experiment around with OP characters in an alternate universe setting, so here it is. I'm planning on this to be a oneshot, but if I receive enough positive response from you guys, I may consider continuing this story.

Enjoy!

* * *

Mai gave a quick glance at her watch. She was counting down the time left to three o'clock. She tapped her fingers on the counter, getting quite restless. The hands on her watch were ticking by too slowly for her liking.

' _Five minutes left. You can endure for another five minutes.'_ Mai chanted in her mind repeatedly.

The café was currently void of any customers. Mai was used to the peace and quiet she got whenever she was on shift.

The café was not anything that spectacular. It is just a quaint little shop selling coffee, tea, snacks and desserts. It is located quite near to a local university campus, which happened to be the institute that she was studying at.

Not many students come all the way out here to study or find some quiet time. Most of them stay within the campus, and would opt for a cup of Starbucks over an unbranded cup of java any day. If anyone asked Mai, she would say that Starbucks is overrated, and definitely overpriced. Heck, she could probably make coffee that tastes just as good, or if not even better, and it will cost her less than that one cup of overpriced coffee.

However, there is one particular university student that has been patronising the coffee shop frequently. Whenever Mai was on shift every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he will always come in at a fixed time and order a cup of espresso. He would take the spot at the furthest corner, next to the wall. He will take his notes out, study material, or whatever, and begin to study. He will stay here for the rest of the day, and only leave at dusk. It is Monday today, so he should be coming in at 3 o'clock.

And this pattern had been going on for three weeks already.

Mai gave another quick glance to her watch. The side of her lips twitched upward, forming a smile. He will be coming through the door in five, four, three… two…

One.

As if on cue, the door opened, causing the bells hung on the door handle to chime. He strode into the coffee shop with his bag in hand, and immediately went for his favourite seat at the back. As usual, he was wearing a white dress shirt and black trousers. The sleeves of his shirt folded up to his elbows, showing his tribal tattoos, and the collar unbuttoned.

When he walked past her without saying anything, Mai looked at him curiously. Usually, he would ask for his usual whenever he walked past her, but he did not say anything today.

Mai decided to take the initiative. "The usual?" She called out, her voice going an octave higher than her usual tone.

She cringed at herself. _'Don't sound too enthusiastic!'_

"Hm? Oh, yes please." He answered in a smooth voice.

Immediately, Mai went to prepare his coffee. When she was done, she brought it over to his table.

He looked up from his papers momentarily when she placed the hot cup of coffee on his table. "Thank you."

She offered a small smile. "You're welcome."

Mai stationed herself back at the counter. She had nothing to do at the moment. There are times when she brought her assignments and notes to work and she would read through them whenever business was slow. However, she had no assignments to be due, and she had finished reviewing all of her notes, leaving her with nothing to do.

Sometimes, she would look at the man seated all the way at the back, and study him.

He is definitely a tall one, maybe around a heads taller than her. His raven hair was spikey, and always looked dishevelled. But it was dishevelled in a good way. It made him look more attractive. The goatee looks surprisingly good on him. If any other guy tried to pull off that look, they would probably end up looking like a madman. The dark shadows under his grey eyes told her that he doesn't get enough sleep. He had two piercings on each ear. With all the tattoos printed all over his arm and his piercings, one would think that he is someone from the underworld.

But Mai knew that he was definitely a student studying in the same university as her. University students and criminals just don't seem to mix together well. However, he is just a stranger first and foremost, so she couldn't be so quick to judge someone. For now, her verdict is: the handsome man is a good man.

Now that Mai thought about it, how did she come to know that he was studying in the same university as her?

Mai hummed in thought. _'That's right, Shachi knew him.'_

Shachi is one of her colleagues who happened to be studying first year pharmaceutical science in the same university. Two weeks ago, she and Shachi were on the same shift, when the man walked in to the coffee shop. Shachi then told her that the man was studying medicine in his second year. Shachi could recognise him because they were in the same faculty, and sometimes Shachi saw him walking around the school.

Ever since Shachi pointed the man out, Mai had begun to take notice of him. It was no surprise that Mai did not recognise the man at all. She was studying in a faculty way different from science and medicine. There was no way she could have seen him around in her school.

The ringing of the bell snapped Mai out of her thoughts. Another customer had walked in and took a seat at the counter, right in front of her.

Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the man staring at her with a smirk on his face.

It was that creepy man who had been trying to hit on her for a week already. He usually comes in at 8 o'clock, one hour before the shop's closing hour. The creepy man will sit down at the counter and drink his coffee, and stare at her shamelessly as she worked. Then, whenever she is about to close the shop, he will offer to walk her home, or take her out to supper, or a midnight movie. She rejected all of his offers flatly, but he would always pester her to reconsider, saying that she "won't regret the experience". No doubt he's just trying to get into her pants.

Well, he should do something about his face first before hitting on girls.

Mai mustered a fake smile. She could play nice for now. "May I take your order?"

The creepy man's smirk grew wider. "Why, yes. May I have you?"

Mai clenched her fist under the counter, but her smile remained. "I'm afraid not. You are supposed to order something that is edible in a café, not a human."

"What if I said that I wanted to eat you, hm?" The man's face turned cocky, as if challenging her to come back with a smart comment.

Mai's expression immediately turned a hundred and eighty degrees, glaring at the man straight in the eye. "I do not appreciate you talking to me like that."

"But I really want to." The man replied in his failed attempt of a sultry voice. It just made him sound like a dying whale.

Mai took a deep breathe, and slowly exhaled. "Sir, I don't think you are getting the hint. I am not interested in you, and I will not go out with you. Either you order something, or leave this place."

"Aw come on, sugar, don't be so bitter. You may not want me, but I do want you. You can't be so sure that you're not interested in me without giving me a chance. Just one date, and I will make you fall head over heels with me. What do you say?" The creepy man said suggestively.

"I said no. If you are not going to order anything, then leave." Mai said. Her patience for the man in front of her was growing thin. If he does not leave now, she would definitely snap.

"Sorry to break it to you, sugar, but I won't leave until I get a date with you." The man said with a forceful tone.

' _That's it.'_ "Would you like me to mess that ugly fa-"

"Excuse me, Mai-ya. Can I get a refill for my coffee?" A familiar voice came behind the creepy man.

Mai stopped mid-sentence and tilted her head to the side, and saw the attractive university student standing there, holding his now-empty cup.

Mai immediately smiled, and took the cup from him. "Sure thing. You can go back and wait at your table, if you'd like."

He shook his head. "I'll wait here. Besides, I think you need help in dealing with a difficult customer."

"Excuse me, I'm difficult?" The creepy man shrieked.

The attractive man raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't see any other customers here other than the both of us."

Mai scoffed. "He's not even a customer."

"What am I, then?" The creepy man said, sounding hopeful that Mai will say something favourable.

She glared at him. "A thorn that has been persistently sticking on to my side for a week."

The attractive man smirked. "There you have it. I think it will be prudent of you to leave now, before Mai-ya decides to lodge a police report against you for harassment. When that happens, I will be her witness and vouch for her."

The creepy man's face paled immediately. "A-all right! Fine! I'll leave!" He scrambled for the door, and finally left the coffee shop.

Mai let out a sigh and shook her head. "I was about to punch that creep in the face before you stepped in." She then looked up at the man. "Thank you, er…"

"Trafalgar Law. Law is just fine." The man introduced.

"Thank you, Law." Mai repeated herself.

Now that her burden was out of the way, she went to refill Law's espresso.

"Maybe I shouldn't have stepped in. Seeing you punch that man might prove to be entertaining." Law said.

Mai placed the filled cup on the counter, with the handle facing law. "What a nice thing to say. I'm flattered." Mai replied, voice dripping with sarcasm. "By the way, who told you my name?"

Law raised his eyebrow again. "Your nametag told me."

Mai blinked owlishly, before looking down at her work apron. "Oh, that blasted thing…"

Law chuckled.

' _Oh my… his laugh….'_ Mai could definitely get addicted to that sound.

He slipped onto the counter seat. "Tell me, why work in a café like this one when there are always very few customers?" Law asked curiously.

"Because it's quaint." Mai replied immediately. She did not miss the look of disbelief on the man's face.

"Just kidding. I work here to earn money to pay for my tuition fees. Surprisingly, the pay I get here is enough to cover for the fees, with maybe a little bit of extra money left." Mai said. She took note of how he was drinking his coffee now on the counter with her, completely ignoring the fact that his belongings were at the back.

"Tuition fees? So you're studying in a local university." Law came to a conclusion quickly.

"And we have a winner!" Mai replied, grinning at him. "Would our winner like to guess which university I'm studying at?" She asked cheekily.

Law smirked. "Grand Line University."

"And now we have a champion." Mai laughed.

"I'm currently in my second year in Grand Line University, but I can't say that I've seen you around before. Which faculty are you in?" Law asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

"You study there too? I'm in my second year of studying Accountancy in the Faculty of Business and Accounting. You?" Mai asked, acting as if she didn't know about Law being in the same institute as her. If she mentioned anything about her knowing him, that will make things awkward between them, and she didn't want to explain herself to the man.

"Second year medicine in the Faculty of Medicine. I guess that explains why we have never seen each other on campus before." Law mused.

"University campuses aren't small, after all." Mai agreed.

Law then stood up, holding his cup in hand. "I think that's enough of break time. I'll go back to my table now."

"That's alright, I don't wish to interrupt your studies." Mai said, smiling at him. "I'll be here if you need more coffee."

He smirked at her. "I'll keep that offer in mind."

* * *

He stayed longer today, way past dusk.

When he didn't start packing his things at dusk, Mai got a bit curious. What made him stayed longer today?

Over the past few hours up till dusk, the café received six more customers. They only stayed here for a maximum of an hour, before all of them left. Mai snacked on a small serving of the shop's potato salad to keep her stomach filled until it was time to close the shop at 9 o'clock. When she was on shift, she usually did not eat dinner, and instead snack on something that could last her she got off work and bought food back home to eat. Which she admit, was very unhealthy, but she didn't mind.

Once it was 8.15, Mai started to prepare closing the shop. She mopped the floor, cleaned the tables and chairs, and kept all of the kitchen equipment. By the time she was done, it was five minutes to 9 o'clock.

Strangely enough, Law haven't started packing his things.

She went to the changing room at the back and took off her apron. She took down her purse that was on her designated hanger, and replaced it with the apron. She went out, and saw Law sitting at the counter.

"That was quick." She commented.

"Thank you. I was surprised you didn't chase me out earlier." Law said.

"Technically, we only close at 9, so chasing you out before that would be immoral of me. Besides, I was surprised you didn't leave at your usual timing." Mai smirked, quoting his words.

Law shrugged. "Had to make sure that the "creep" from this afternoon doesn't come back and harass you."

"How gentlemanly of you." Mai chuckled.

"Once again, thank you." Law said smoothly. "Are you hungry? I noticed that you only ate a small snack a few hours ago."

"I hope you're not trying to pull off the same thing as that creep." Mai said in mock accusation.

He smirked at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"All right then. Since you're asking, I do feel a tiny bit hungry."

"Would you like to accompany a hungry man for a trip to the diners down the street? I only had cup after cup of coffee, and I'm absolutely famished by now." Law asked.

"Well, if you put it that way, I can't reject your offer." Mai said playfully.

"Well then, shall we be off?" Law asked.

"Lead the way." Mai grinned.

* * *

That's it folks! Do drop by a review, and I'll see if I will continue with this story.

The link to the story's cover image is on my bio.


	2. Chapter 2

Wow, this story garnered more likes than I thought it would. So here's the second chapter :D

A little bit of spoilers on Law's past, for those who haven't been keeping up with the anime and manga for a reallyyy long time.

* * *

"So? When do I get to meet her? How does she look like? Is she pretty? I bet she's smart too." The female voice at the other side of the phone rambled on and continued to bombard Law with even more questions, giving him no time at all to speak.

Law shook his head at his younger sister, Lammy.

All he did was told her about his day in the university, and his encounter with Mai today, and now she's acting as if he finally got himself a girlfriend.

"Do you want answers or not?" Law asked in a threatening manner, but he knew that Lammy will not take any offence. She knows that Law can never stay angry at her for long. They treasure each other too much as siblings.

"I was just about to wonder when you will get annoyed with me and cut in. Start talking, brother." Lammy ordered. Law could hear her smile through the phone.

"First of all, the chances of you getting to meet her are low, unless I bring her with me when I visit, or if you decide to come over to visit me. And neither option is going to happen soon." Law answered the first question.

"What?! Does that mean you won't come back for the Harvest Festival next month?" Lammy exclaimed.

"I'm afraid so. The festival may clash with some of my lectures. But I'll see if I can do something about it." Law said, a hint of regret lingering in his voice. "As for her appearance: she's around a head shorter than me, fair skin, black eyes and hair-"

"That sounds like every other Asian woman." Lammy interrupted.

"…True."

"Think you can snap a picture of her?"

"No."

"Meanie. So is she pretty?" Lammy pouted.

"According to the standards here, women should put on make-up to be considered pretty. And she doesn't put on any, not that I can see anyway." Law stated, deliberately dodging Lammy's question.

"I didn't ask for the standards there; I'm asking about _your_ opinion, brother."

Law clicked his tongue, and he heard his sister giggling at the other end. "…I guess she's attractive in her own way."

"Really? What about her brains? Is she the book-smart kind or the street-smart kind?" The younger sibling questioned further.

"If she can manage to juggle her studies and work at the same time, I think she has both smarts. Her personality isn't that bad too. She's better than most of the girls I've seen here in the city." Law groaned at the last part.

"How are the girls like there?" Lammy asked, with an amused tone.

"If I have to sum it up in one word, they're materialistic." Law deadpanned.

"You mean, the one with the most money, status, popularity, wins it all?"

"More or less, but some are even worse."

Lammy gasped over the line. "Worse!"

Law nodded absentmindedly, not realising that his sister cannot see him through the phone. "A lot of them are pretty arrogant, and demanding. Not to forget that they can't set their priorities straight. I won't be surprise if at least half of the girls, even the guys, at my university campus spend more time partying and drinking instead of studying."

"Ouch. The city can't be _that_ bad." Lammy said weakly.

"Maybe it's just the people in my university, who knows? Thankfully, there's still people like Mai-ya walking around the streets. Don't worry, I can handle them. What about you? How's school so far? Is Uncle Ken and Aunt Lily taking care of you properly?" This time, Law was the one shooting out the questions, causing Lammy to giggle at her older brother.

Even though he may seem cold and heartless at times, he still cared for the people that matter to him. Especially Lammy, since she's the only family member that he has left, other than his Uncle, Ken, and his wife.

"School's fine. I'm able to keep up with all the homework and stuff. I don't really talk to Uncle Ken or Aunt Lily a lot, save for dinner time. Most of the time, I just stay in the room. You do know that I've never really liked them since we were little. But other than that, they do give me pocket money for lunch and they do feed me for breakfast and dinner."

"You just care about being fed, huh? I've never liked them too, and I would have brought you along to the city with me…" Law trailed off.

"Except that none of us have the money to support each other, since mum and dad's money will be with Uncle Ken until I turn eighteen. It's not your fault, Law. Just concentrate on your stuff for now, and I'll concentrate on mine. As soon as you graduate and get a job, you'll get me out of here, right?" Lammy asked cheerfully. However, Law could pick up on her sadness when she said those words.

Damn it, he hated leaving her alone back in town with their uncle and aunt.

Law gave a melancholic smile at his sister's words. "That's right."

"Then we'll do just that! Oh and, can you promise me to do something before you come and bail me out?" Lammy asked, this time her tone was overly sweet, and it spelled mischief and trouble for Law.

"It'd better not be something stupid." Law said good-naturedly.

"Tsk, a task like this is nothing for the charismatic Trafalgar D. Water Law! God, that's a mouthful." Lammy added silently.

"Your name isn't any better. Just spit it out, Lammy."

"Alright, then. By the time you bail me out, I want you and this Mai girl to be together." Lammy chirped.

For a few seconds, Law was silent, and made no attempt to reply his sister on the phone.

"…No."

"What do you mean, 'No'?! She's probably the first girl that you've ever taken out for dinner, right? That's the closest that you've ever gotten to a date! She has to be something special! By the way, did you pay for her share?" Lammy asked.

"I did, she almost beat me to it, though." Law said nonchalantly.

"Mum and dad will be happy that their teachings did not go down the drain. So, why can't you get together with her?"

"First, I barely have enough time for a relationship like that, neither does she. Second, I'm not interested with getting into a relationship at the moment. Third, I barely have enough money to get by every month, there's no way I'll have enough to take her out for a simple dinner or movie or anything else for that matter." Law listed the reasons firmly.

"You spend your afternoons at her workplace, three times a week! And who says you have to take her out for movies or dinners? From what you told me, I think a simple study date is enough for her, and that's completely free! And I'm sure you'll be changing your tune about getting into a relationship soon." Lammy said in a sing-song tone, teasing her older brother.

Law frowned at his younger sister. Sometimes, she can be too smart for her own good. "No means no. Stop invading my private life."

"Awww."

Law chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, we exchanged our contact number."

"AH HAH! So you are interested!" The younger girl was overjoyed.

Law smirked at her reaction. He could imagine her jumping up and down her bed in the midst of her celebration. For a sixteen year old, she can be quite childish. "I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. She has a stalker, so I gave her my contact in case she needs help."

Law glanced at clock sitting at the right corner of his desk. _'11 P.M.? Since when did it get so late?'_

He coughed into the mouthpiece of the phone, breaking the girl away from her celebratory mode. "It's 11 already. Shouldn't you be going to bed soon? You have to go to school tomorrow, don't you?"

There was a few seconds of silence, which Lammy used to check the time. "Drat. I wanna ask about that stalker, and there're still so many things that I want to tell you."

"I can't say the same for me." Law replied teasingly.

"Someone's eager to get away from me."

Law smirked again. "If Uncle Ken or Aunt Lucy ever does something to you, you know the drill."

"Run to a friend's house, grab their phone, call for the police, then call you." Lammy replied without missing a beat.

"That's my little sister. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Law. Love you." Lammy yawned.

"Hn."

He cut off the line, and placed the phone on the desk. He never did say those words to anyone, not to his parents, and not his sister, even though they were quite inseparable. He just didn't feel comfortable saying that phrase. He'd rather show his feelings through his actions, and not words.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned. However, instead of going to sleep, he took out some pieces of paper and a pen from his bag, and started studying again.

If he's going to graduate from medical school as fast as possible, he'll need to work extra hard, even if it meant sacrificing a few hours of sleep.

* * *

Mai trudged to the table where Shachi and Penguin sat. Both males were currently stuffing food down their throat. When they saw her plopping herself on the chair in front of them, they stared at her with wide eyes.

Mai stared at the both of them with blood shot eyes, a sign that she did not get enough sleep the previous night. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

Penguin gulped his food down and spoke first. "You never join us during break time!"

"Fyeah! Fyoo oohueys shady in ha lababee! (Yeah! You always study in the library!)" Shachi said with food still in his mouth.

Mai looked at him with slight disgust. "Don't talk with your mouth full, Shachi."

"Sowwy." Shachi swallowed the food, and drank a mouthful of the coffee from the cup beside him. "So, what brings you to the campus's food court today?"

"I need coffee, badly. Watch my bag while I'm gone, and don't take anything." Mai grabbed her wallet from her black backpack, and walked away from the table.

"Wow, she looks really tired. How did she survive the first lecture?" Shachi asked.

"By sheer willpower?" Penguin guessed, and took another bite out of his burger.

* * *

Mai joined in the queue at the beverage stall, which was already lined with sleep-deprived students who need the extra sugar and caffeine to help them stay awake for the rest of the day.

She yawned again, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Don't mind if I join you." A deep voice rumbled next to her ear. She turned around and saw Law looking down at her, with one hand stuck in the pocket of his spotted jeans. He was wearing a yellow sweatshirt which had a strange smiley printed in the middle.

' _He's wearing something different from his usual clothes.'_ Mai noted.

The accounting student offered a tired smile. "I don't mind. More coffee for you?"

Law nodded. "I don't usually come for the coffee here. It doesn't taste nice."

"But you stayed up late last night, and now you're regretting it because you can barely stay awake in class, and you need the caffeine boost?" Mai completed his thoughts for him.

Law blinked at her. "Is it that obvious?"

She smirked at him. "You may have tan skin, but those dark circles don't hide themselves easily. They're even darker now compared to yesterday when I saw you."

"Well then, I guess I could say the same to you. Your dark circles are very noticeable, and your eyes look very bloody." Law said.

Mai yawned again, and shrugged at Law. "What kept you up?"

"Studying." He answered easily. "You?"

"I was looking through my papers last night, when I found out that I left some work undone, and it's due today. So I stayed up for most of the night completing it." Mai groaned. She kept beating herself up over her oversight, and now she had to pay the price. "Thank goodness I don't have any work today. I'll probably collapse while making someone's coffee; become a narcoleptic."

Law chuckled. "If that doesn't happen, you'll probably mistake salt for sugar instead."

She blinked a few times, and started to laugh, causing more than a pair of eyes to stare at her as if she is hysterical.

Law raised an eyebrow in amusement.

Mai was trying to calm herself from her laughter, but she was failing at it terribly. "T-that… actually happened before. Last year when I was just starting out on the job, I took the container filled with salt instead of sugar, and dumped three teaspoons of it in a customer's coffee. It didn't turn out well."

"Well, that's a surprise." Law said sarcastically.

"It's pretty funny, now that I think about it. Or maybe it's just because I'm sleep deprived. Oh look, it's our turn. Do you mind if I go first?" Mai asked.

Law held out a hand, gesturing for her to go ahead.

She sent him a grateful smile. "Thanks." She then turned to the middle-aged lady standing behind the counter. "Give me one iced latte with extra sugar, and one espresso, make it extra strong!"

She felt a pair of eye staring at her back, so she looked at Law and gave him an innocent look. "What?"

"You're going to get either diabetes with all that sugar." Law said bluntly.

Mai almost dropped her jaw in disbelief. Did he seriously not pick up on what she was trying to pull off? Or was he just acting?

…She prayed for the former.

"Don't worry. I rarely splurge on all those sweet stuff." Mai said, sweatdropping.

Law looked at her as if he did not believe a thing she said.

"It's alright to splurge once in a while so long as we exercise, right?" Mai asked.

Law shrugged. "Depends on how you define exercise. Some people think that lazing on their bed the whole day is considered as exercise."

"Then thank the heavens that I'm not one of those people." Mai joked.

"Here's your coffee." The lady pushed two cups towards Mai. Mai paid for the drinks and took the cups, careful not to spill its contents.

"What would you like, young man?" The lady asked Law.

Law was about to open his mouth to order, but Mai cut in quickly. "It's alright, ma'am. I bought it for him already." She held up the cup of espresso, emphasising her point.

Law narrowed his eyes at her. "You didn't…"

She smirked at him. "You're welcome! It's not much, but think of it as a token of appreciation for dinner and chasing the creep away yesterday." By the time she was done with that sentence, she was smiling at the taller man sincerely.

"…Fine." He took the cup from her.

She beamed. "Do you want to join our table?"

"Our?"

"Shachi and Penguin. They're first year pharmacy students, you might have seen them around your faculty building before. Shachi works at the café too." Mai gave a brief introduction of her two friends.

Law looked thoughtful for a moment, before he shrugged. "Why not."

Mai grinned, and led him to the table where Shachi and Penguin were waiting for her, skilfully dodging the crowd even though she was tired. Law was following right behind her.

"I'm back." Mai announced, and slid into her seat. Law took the empty seat next to her.

Shachi looked at the newcomer. "Isn't he…?"

Mai grinned. "This is Trafalgar Law, second year medical student. Law, this is Shachi, and that's Penguin. You can tell just by looking at his hat." Mai gestured to Penguin's hat, which spelled his own name.

"Nice to meet'cha!" Shachi and Penguin said at the same time.

Law nodded. "Same here." He took a sip of his hot espresso.

"You look much more energetic now." Penguin remarked, after noticing that Mai didn't look as tired as before.

"I've got my sugar and caffeine supply in my hands now. I'm happy." Mai sighed, and sipped on her coffee happily.

"Speaking of coffee, you had work yesterday, right? Did that creepy dude come back?" Penguin asked.

"They know about that man?" Law asked.

"The first time that creep came, Shachi and I had our shifts together. Whatever Shachi knows, Penguin knows. It's useless to hide anything from either of them. And yes, he dropped by again yesterday." Mai explained to Law first, before answering Penguin's question.

"The same old questions?" Shachi prompted.

Mai scoffed. "He took it too far yesterday. He tried to imply that he wanted to sleep with me. That creep."

Shachi and Penguin started laughing while banging their hands on the table, tears gathering at their eyes.

"Lower down your volume. People are staring." Law commented.

Almost immediately, Shachi and Penguin lowered their volume. "I bet you kicked him and threw him out." Shachi gasped, still breathless from laughing.

"I wanted to punch him in the face, but Law threatened to call the police first." Mai grumbled, quite disappointed that she could not punch the creep.

"I'm more civilised, after all." Law added.

"Excuse me? You were the one who said that it might be fun to watch him get punched! How are you anymore civilised than me?" Mai said in an accusing tone.

"Ahhh!" Shachi shrieked all of a sudden, causing the three other occupants of the table to look at him.

"What's wrong?" Penguin asked.

"How could I forget to mention it all this while? Crap, crap, crap, cra-" Shachi wanted to continue cursing, but Penguin cut him off.

"That's why I was asking what's wrong!"

"Just few days ago, I heard from some of my friends from other faculties that there's this new architecture student with blonde hair and blue eyes who has been trying to flirt with girls all over the campus!" Shachi said nervously.

Mai felt the blood draining from her face quickly, causing her face to pale immensely.

"The description seems to match with the man I threatened yesterday." Law said absentmindedly.

"God, save us all." Mai groaned.

"Well, pray fast, Mai, because a blonde guy with blue eyes is approaching our table from behind." Penguin warned.

Mai clicked her tongue in annoyance, and grabbed her bag and coffee. "Let's just leave."

"Where are you going, sugar?" An all too familiar, sickening voice cooed from behind, making the four of them freeze cold.

"You can't be serious." Mai muttered under her breath.

"Wanna run?" Shachi asked.

Mai sighed. "I'll see if I can somehow knock some sense into that creep."

"Hey, I'm talking to you, sugar. Too afraid that you will be captivated by my handsome face?"

Mai turned around, and glared at the blonde guy straight in the eye. "Anyone who can even be captivated with that face of yours is probably blind."

Everyone who was within ear shot of Mai broke out into laughter.

The creep seemed to falter a bit, as he stared at the people who were laughing at him.

"You have no idea on what you're missing out on. Leave those guys there and come along with me, I can show you how to have a good time." The blonde creep said boldly, but Mai could tell that his confidence was wavering.

"I have said this plenty of times before: get a hint. I'm not interested with the likes of you. I have no problem turning you down at my workplace, and I have no qualms about doing it again here, in front of hundreds of people. Back off now and save yourself from humiliation."

At her words, he became enraged, and advanced towards her. Before Mai could react, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward, and wrapped an arm around her waist. He pressed her against his body, trapping her in.

Shachi and Penguin stood up and tried to help her, but Law held them back. When the two friends looked at the medical student, they were shocked to see that Law was smirking, as if he was amused by Mai's plight.

"I want to see her punch him this time." Law offered a short explanation.

At hearing his words, both of them grinned devilishly.

"It has been a while since I last saw her kick someone's butt." Penguin said gleefully.

They turned their attention back at Mai, who had her back arched slightly backwards to keep her face away from the blonde creep.

"Come on, sugar. Just one night, and I'll leave you alone. Hm?" The blonde said.

Mai kept her glare on the man. But suddenly, she smiled sweetly at him and cupped his face with both of her hands, frightening everyone around her, save for the creep, Law, Shachi and Penguin.

The creep took her gesture as a good sign, and leaned in further towards her.

Then, before anyone could register what was going on, the creep started yelping in pain, breaking his hold away from Mai. She took the opportunity, and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine at.

Her audience cringed in pain for the creep that writhing in pain.

"Ouch, I felt that." Shachi whimpered, covering the area where his family jewels are.

Mai quickly turned away from the creep and grabbed her coffee and bag, swinging it over her shoulder. "I'm getting far away from him."

Law nodded, satisfied with what he had witnessed. "I think that's enough entertainment for one day."

* * *

Once the four of them were at a safe distance away from the food court, Shachi and Penguin were the first ones to start laughing.

"O-oh boy, that was hilarious! You kicked him in the balls!" Shachi barely gasped out between his fit of laughter.

Penguin, on the other hand, was laughing so hard he could barely get a word out.

"I was expecting you to punch him, but I guess jabbing him at a pressure point is acceptable too." Law smirked at the only female.

Mai grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You found out?"

"You're talking to a medical student. Of course I would know that the area just below the ear is a pressure point. You pressed really hard on it while holding his face." Law explained easily.

His response caused Mai to giggle. "I hope the creep doesn't come back again."

"After getting humiliated like that? He'd better not." Penguin said breathlessly, still recovering from his laughter.

* * *

If there's anyone who had been reading my other LawxOc story (Wind Dance), I have taken it down, and I plan to rewrite the whole entire story again. There are many details of the original story that I find cringe-worthy and deserve some changes and polishing, such as the OC's background and powers, and the story arcs. I'm sorry :(

Well, for all of you wanted a continuation to this story, here you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, it's been so long since I last wrote something. October and November was hectic with my GCE O Level exams. Now that my exams are over (WOOHOO!) I have more time on my hands now to continue writing. Hopefully I can update more frequently now, so long as I don't become lazy or anything hehe.

It's a rather short chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

* * *

Mai stared at her laptop. Nothing was going into her head as she had hoped. The combination of numbers, formulas and equations made zero sense to her. Nada. Zilch.

"Sigh…" She rubbed the area next to her eye, attempting to relief her eye sockets from stressing itself too much. Her eyes were already stinging from staring at the laptop screen for half an hour.

' _I should stop for now. I'll continue later.'_ Mai convinced herself. She proceeded to plug out her laptop charger from the power socket and packed her things quickly.

 _Ring_

Mai looked up from the messy pile of paper. "Good afternoon- oh, hi Law."

She felt her mood brighten immediately when the medical student waltz in into the café. She had been so engrossed with her assignment that she forgotten Law was supposed to be making one of his regular visits today. She prepared his beverage immediately.

For the past two weeks, instead of taking his usual seat at the back corner of the shop, he sat at the bar counter while he studied, having a conversation with her once in a while. Mai welcomed the change wholeheartedly.

Law nodded at her in reply, before taking his seat at the counter. He placed his bag on the seat next to him, and took out his books. "Someone's working hard." Law commented, eyeing the scattered mess of notes in front of Mai.

Mai sighed loudly, placing a mug of coffee in front of him. "We have a chemistry test coming up next Monday. I've been studying since Wednesday, but all these things aren't making sense to me." She gestured to the pieces of paper laid out in front of her.

"Chemistry? Is that your minor?" Asked Law.

Mai nodded. Suddenly, a thought had struck Mai, and she looked at Law with hopeful eyes. "Say, are you any good in chemistry? Medical students _do_ need to be good at chemistry, right?"

He raised an amused eyebrow, already knowing what Mai was asking for. "Would you like me to help out?"

Mai nodded. "Please help, I have no idea what the equations are talking about, and none of my professors are making any sense during the lecture." She pleaded in a desperate tone.

"What's the test about?" Law inquired. He held a hand out, asking Mai to pass her notes to him.

Mai hastily gathered the scattered pieces of paper and handed it to Law. "Organic Chemistry. Something about alcohols, carboxylic acid and esters."

Law skimmed through her notes, rearranging some of the papers so that they were in order. "This is easy enough. Alcohols and carboxylic acids follow a certain pattern. Once you understand the pattern, understanding esters shouldn't be a problem." He explained briefly.

"Try your best to phrase it in stupid-people language so that I can understand."

Law smirked. "I'll see what I can do. Let's get started, shall we?"

* * *

Within the next two hours, Mai completely got the hang of it. Law dished out several practice questions for her, and she did them with complete ease.

The medical student picked up her work and looked through her answers. He nodded and made a sound of approval. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Mai nodded in agreement, and grinned at her companion. "Yeah. You made chemistry a heck lot easier to understand now. Have you ever considered becoming a teacher?" She joked.

He gave her a dry look. "I don't plan to become one. I don't have the patience to deal with kids."

"You don't have to teach kids. Secondary school students are much more mature and easier to deal with." She reasoned.

"Nah, most of them are still immature."

"Oh, and you were mature back in secondary school?" Mai challenged with a smirk.

He returned the gesture by smirking back at her. "Of course."

She chuckled. "Alright, you narcissist." She then noticed his cup was already drained from its contents. "More coffee?"

Law nodded, and gave her the empty cup.

"Oh, just a heads up: I won't be around in the city from next Monday to Thursday. I'll be going back to my hometown to visit my family." Law said.

Mai looked at him in bewilderment. "Where's your hometown?" She asked curiously. With all that tattoos and piercings that Law had, and him studying in a University here, she thought that he was from the city. Most people who lived in the smaller towns would rather attend their local university, since it's quite troublesome to move all the way out from their town.

"Flevance. Three hours away by train."

"Flevance? The White Town? The one that's popular for its winter season?" Mai bombarded excitedly.

Law blinked, too shocked at her reaction to even open his mouth to make an attempt to reply. He had never seen someone so excited at the thought of his hometown. He slowly nodded his head.

The smile on her face grew even bigger, as if that was even possible. She looked a lot like a little girl in a candy store, and that somewhat reminded Law of his sister whenever they go for a festival: a bundle of joy that is hard to calm down.

"I've always wanted to visit there. My mum used to tell me that Flevance is really beautiful during the winter. The whole town will turn white because of the snow, making it look like a place pulled out from a story book." Mai explained, a dreamy expression forming on her face. But she suddenly thought of something, and the dreamy expression turned into a frown. "The only problem is I can't stand the winter. It's too cold."

Law was beyond shocked at Mai's reaction. The last time he told someone he's from a remote town, he received a dirty look from said person, followed some comment about "What are you doing here in the city, you country boy". He hated it when he was looked down upon, so he never really told anyone where he was from unless they asked.

And right in front of him, Mai was ecstatic about Flevance.

"I… see." Was all Law managed to say.

"But why are you telling me this?" Asked Mai. She had finally snapped out from her dream-like trance.

The medical student smirked at her, his steel eyes had a glint of mischief to it. "So that you won't worry and miss me too much."

Mai raised an eyebrow at Law, acting as if she was not amused at all. However she could feel her face getting warm. She could only hope that she is not blushing now.

"It's alright. I still have Shachi and Penguin. Having one less friend around for a few days won't make me feel lonely." She lied smoothly, a grin forming on her face.

"Ouch. But on a more serious note, make sure there's someone with you all the time. That creep may come back while I'm gone. He may even bring some friends along. Be careful."

The way Law had said it made it seem like he wasn't really worried about Mai, especially when he was grinning at her with a lazy look. However, there had been some sort of an implication that Mai knew self-defence. Law had seen her deal with the troublemaker, first hand, so he was sure she could do it again subsequently. In other words, he wasn't too worried for her, really.

"Aw, so you do care."

"I'm not as heartless as you think, Mai-ya."

"…-ya? Is that how you address other people with their names?"

"Childhood habit. It stuck all the way."

Mai hummed in response. "Won't you miss a few lectures?"

"Only one. My professor has something up next week, so some of our lectures have been cancelled and postponed."

"You are one heck of a lucky fellow." Mai pouted with envy. Her professor never cancelled any lectures. She wanted a break from time to time too!

"I've always been on the lucky side."

* * *

Later that night, after Law returned to his dorm in the university campus, he made a call to Lammy to tell that he could visit Flevance in time for the Harvest Festival.

She screamed into the phone, and Law's eardrums almost burst.

"You're coming back?! Really?!" Lammy exclaimed.

Law flinched at the girl's boisterous voice. Would it hurt to be a little bit gentler? "Yes, I already bought a train ticket for Monday afternoon, I should arrive around evening. You'd better clean my damn room because I'm sure it has been left to collect dust ever since I left."

Lammy chuckled nervously. "Guilty as charged. Alright, I'll start cleaning tomorrow. Should I tell Uncle Ken and Aunt Lily?"

"Yeah. As much as I want to show up unexpected and give them a heart attack, I don't want to give them any reason to nag at me or throw me out of the house." Law groaned. If there's anything he hated the most about his aunt and uncle, it would be the fact that they are always looking for excuses to fault him and Lammy. It was annoying, tremendously.

"Okay. What about Mai?" Lammy questioned, sounding a little bit hopeful. "Did you ask her to come along?"

Law sighed exasperatedly. "You know, there's this thing called university and lectures. Not everyone is lucky enough to have their lectures cancelled at such convenient timing."

"Damn." The girl cursed silently.

"Language." Law said in a warning tone.

"Speak for yourself." Lammy shot back immediately.

"… You've been learning too much recently. Who do you hang out with in school?"

"Oh, just some friends who converse in sarcasm on a daily basis." Lammy giggled.

Law sighed again. His little sister is growing up. She's no longer the innocent little girl who would drag him out to play whenever he wanted to study. Although, she still did retain some of her child-like qualities. For example: screaming in his ear consistently.

"So, next Monday?" Lammy asked, just to confirm once more.

"Yeah. Make sure the darn room is clean."

"Okey-dokey! I've got homework to do, so I'll talk to you again on Monday."

"Sure. Bye Lammy."

"Bye!"

She hanged up.

Law smirked at his phone, and shook his head slowly. Next Monday will definitely be filled with lots of shouting and laughter, on his sister's part.

* * *

Like I said, it's a pretty short chapter. But I'll try my best to get the next chapter written ASAP!


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